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Written by Dynamis Ministries | June 27, 2024

On May 6, 1954, British runner Roger Bannister accomplished a feat that not only put his name in the track and field record books but paved the way for people everywhere to push the limits of conventional thinking. What did he do? He became the first person ever to run a mile in under 4 minutes. At the time, this record made worldwide headlines because, before Bannister, runners had been seriously training to run a sub-four-minute mile for over 50 years, yet to no avail! Many in the running community were beginning to question if this accomplishment was humanly possible. And then Bannister came along and proved the skeptics wrong.

Despite the greatness of this feat, what made this story even more remarkable was what happened next. Only 46 days later, another runner bested the time and became the second person to run a sub-four-minute mile. And a few weeks after that it was broken yet again! Then, just the following year three more runners broke the barrier—all in the same race! Bannister’s accomplishment had a ripple effect on runners everywhere, showing them that what was once deemed impossible was actually quite achievable. This notion was termed “The Bannister Effect.”

However, this lesson doesn’t just apply to runners. So often we too create mental barriers for what we think is achievable, and this limits our potential. Sometimes we need someone to show us what’s possible and break those barriers in our minds, which can inspire us to achieve. The Bannister Effect is observed across all fields of life ranging from athletics to the workplace and yes, even in our generosity. That’s because one of the biggest challenges we face in growing our generosity is the fear we can’t be very generous, that we don’t have enough. It’s not that we don’t want to be generous, it’s that we don’t necessarily have the right mindset. So, we may rationalize that we’ll give more later when we have more time or more resources.

While these concerns are often valid, this mindset limits our giving and prevents us from living into our fullest generosity potential. This is where the Bannister Effect can help us grow. When we face barriers to our generosity, maybe what we need is not a change of circumstances, such as a new job or windfall of money, but a new mindset about what we think is possible. This is why stories play such a powerful part in spreading generosity. Through our stories, we can see others who are living in similar situations and still finding ways to be impactful with their giving. We hear of people living paycheck to paycheck just like ourselves who still commit to the practice of tithing or manage to give away a large sum of money to an individual in need. Or, we hear of individuals who work full time and raise a family and still find time to serve in the community. This can break down the barriers we’ve created that prevent us from being more generous with our own time.

We tend to be private about our generosity and even prefer to remain anonymous in our giving. But maybe by being more open about our generosity stories we can inspire others to grow their generosity and experience greater joy in their own stories. Maybe our stories can encourage others to achieve their greatest generosity potential! They just need someone to break down some mental barriers that are getting in the way. Do you have a generosity story that can spur others on in their generosity? Consider being more open about sharing your own generosity story, in ways that maintain a posture of humility but can spur others on in their own. Sometimes all we need to grow our generosity is someone to come along and pave the way!

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